swelling of hands and feet

May 2, 2006

I'm experiencing swelling, burning and redness in my hands and feet. At times my hands will cramp making it impossible to grasp. Can this be a side effect of medication? I'm taking Truvada, Reyataz & Norvir. My viral load is undetectible and CD4 is 850. Thank you.

Response from Dr. Henry

The symptoms you describe could be due to one of your HIV medications. The FTC in Truvada can cause a peripheral neuropathy for example (usually feet/ toes more involved that hands initially). Norvir and other protease inhibitors can cause odd vascular reactions in some patients (sometimes due to interaction with other medications or vitamins). Other non-HIV related problems can also cause symptoms like you are experiencing so a careful examination is recommended sometimes including consultation by specialists like a neurologist, dermatologist, or a rheumatologist. KH

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